Dead End Footsteps
by DinoRhino
Summary: It's been almost a year since Eugene's death-and Rapunzel's heart has grow sour and cold. She is hunting down all the men that ever made Eugene's life hell- that mean's the Stabbington Brothers. Word is, they're in Arrendale. But not all is as it seems in the icy kingdom. Hans is back-and he has a plan. To complete it, he needs Rapunzel.
1. Prolouge

There was a nothingness, as the sun set.

It set outside. It set indoors. Gently, as the sun melted into the horizon, the world ended. At least for her.

When the sun set, it set in her heart.

Red stained her dainty fingers. Fingers that always used to smell of charcoal and graphite, used to be coloured with gorgeous paints and pastel shades. She wished with all her heart the red was only that- colour- and didn't have some darker meaning behind it.

There was some darker meaning behind it all, she guessed.

It felt slick as she wiped her hands on her dress, but the blood wouldn't go. It wasn't just on her skin, not anymore. She felt it bury inside her, like a worm, mingling with her pure body and turning her dark from within.

Blood. She couldn't escape that fact, not in a million years.

Blood.

The scream didn't exactly begin, and didn't exactly end. It felt like this moment had just been waiting for time to catch up, lying in her future like a lion. This destiny had always felt like it was coming. This fate. This end.

His end.

Maybe that was why she didn't cry. Maybe, inside, she always knew. But she screamed- high and long and piercing. For a long time, that wailing didn't stop.

The wailing didn't stop as the body turned slowly cold. The wailing didn't stop when the silverly light of the moon entered the room, spreading out on the floor like a glittering ocean, spilling over his carcus and making the blood shine. She could see the place where Gothel had stabbed him, through his coat. The blade had pierced the skin, and then kept going. She tried not to look at the punctured heart. She tried not to imagine how it had felt. She tried to ignore the fact that by now, he had been reduced to nothing. Less than nothing.

Another body. A few bones.

The wailing didn't stop.

* * *

><p>There were books everywhere. On the floor, on the bed. There was even one in the wardrobe, but she decided eventually to leave it there. If it was in the wardrobe, it must not be that special any way. And the girl had no extra space in her bag.<p>

She'd only packed the essentials- her most beloved brushes and sketch pads, a saucepan, a few books, and her wash bag. Even though her hair was shorter now, that didn't mean she wasn't going to care for it. Protocal had been drilled into her so deep that she doubted anyone could pull it out.

_The only one that could is DEAD, _a voice whispered, _DEAD DEAD DEAD_.

"Stop it," the girl hissed at herself, " Just stop. There's no point in thinking about it. It's DONE."

_Dead. Dead. Dead. _

She clawed a hand through her mousy hair, almost trying to drag out the thought. But it stayed, and like a gong, it rang, over and over and-

"STOP!" She screamed. "STOP STOP STOP!"

She mustn't think to hard about it, mustn't listen to the voice. If she did, she had little doubt that she'd find herself next to... to _him. _Dead, on the floor.

Where was the knife?

She didn't know why she started looking, only that it mattered. She needed to feel the hilt in her hand, the blade slice through the air- she needed to know she had the power to end a life, same as Gothel. But most of all, she needed to know that she could end her own.

Death was freedom, in the strangest way.

_He's dead. _

"Stop," She whispered, " Stop."

She searched the whole house before entering the room where _he _lay. She hadn't dared go in there, worried not only about what she'd find, but that she would never come out again. It was almost like the room was filled with a poisonous gas. Walking in would be so much easier than walking out.

But she needed to find the knife.

It took a mental effort to push the handle down, open the door. A muddled stench of iron and festering flesh filled her nose the second she entered. Gasping, she drew back, but the smell was there. Shoving down her revulsion, she crept back in.

This time, she went further, so far that she could see him out the corner of her eye. A dark smudge on the golden wood.

The worst thing was seeing the dried blood glitter in the sunlight. Almost two days had passed since that moment when the world had ceased to exist. And it was a feeble idea, but maybe finding the knife would help everything spin back into focus. Finding the cause of the incident had always been the answer. It would help her heal.

_Dead. _

Her knees went weak, her head began pounding. Her heart fluttered like a bird caught in a cage. There was no air left inside her- quick pants were the only thing that kept her standing. She had to get away from the blood. The stench. Everything.

And that was when she saw it. The metal. The curly hilt, the leather. As if in a dream, she wondered towards it. Cast aside, like the body of the boy she loved.

But then there it was. In her hand.

A knife. _The _knife.

She could do it. She could do it now. The image was clear in her head- the quick swipe of the blade, the trickling from her wrists.

Then, darkness.

It was then that she finally looked back at him. Looked, really looked. Stared at the lines of his face, the crease of his eyes, the slack of the jaw. The smile playing on his lips.

He had said that she was his dream. He would've talked her out of this, if he was alive. He would've hated the idea of her dying because of him.

He'd said that people were looking for them. That he wasn't liked. People had hurt him, when he was younger. The idea of him ever feeling pain made her flinch.

She looked back down at the knife.

People had hurt him. Her Eugene.

This knife could hurt them back. She could be it's master.

_The _knife could hurt them. The leather was soft on her fingertips.

Before, the thought of murder never would've crossed her mind. Before, when she had golden hair and lime green eyes, the world was her oyster- she just needed to reach out to get the pearl.

She needed to fight for the pearl now. Her hair was dark, her eyes were colder. A type of angry green, the colour similar to alge growing in a pond.

She was no longer weak.

_The _knife.

" I am Rapunzel." She breathed into the muggy air, " And I will not rest until he is avenged."

**Well, that was intense. Welcome to this crazy story! Because I've been told my writing is unclear, let me explain. **

**Instead of Eugene living, he dies. Rapunzel is preparing to leave, and then remembers the knife, and decides to kill the people that hurt Eugene. **

**Thank you so much for reading this far, I really appreciate it! Any reviews are WELCOME, I love hearing what you think, good or bad! Feel free to follow or star- again, thanks for reading this baloney! **

**Next chapter will come as soon as I work out whats going on! :-)))))))**

**DinoRhino :-)**


	2. Finding Clues

**HelloHello! Here is the next chapter in the story... Written on note! On my 4 year old iPhone! ( autocorrect please die) So there might be a couple of strange sentences And misspelt names. I've gone through it and everything but human error and all that...so yep! Enjoy!**

My job wasn't to kill him- just maim. A few toes, that was it. But when you get going, it's hard to stop. It's like eating chocolate- or painting. One you've tasted it's brilliance...

Painting. An old word, from an old life. I crush the idea with a force, a wall. I imagine a hammer falling from the sky, crashing into a canvas. The wood fractures and breaks.

Pain. That is the only thing left.

" Rapunzel?" The man splutters, " Lies! You cannot be!"

I laugh. Irry said the man was an idiot. The employer wasn't pacific when he said for me to hurt the Lord. So a few fingers or toes would've cut it- like I said- and killing him shouldn't affect me. Obviously, I don't mean physiologically- that would be ridiculous. Since... That day, nothing has. I doubt anything ever will. No, I mean it won't affect my reputation. Assassin Tower. I only ever give my real name to the dying or dead. My killings. My life.

The last person I have given my real name to that I loved was- I stop. Don't think. Don't think. Hammer. The wall.

It never works. Not with him.

Thankfully, the man says, " The king and queen would never loose their daughter like this."

I place my boot on his stomach and press hard. His eyes glitter with anger as I lean in close, whispering, " the king and queen lost their daughter long ago. I doubt they ever really had her in the first place." I dig my heel in with even more force, and he screams in anguish. " STOP!" He yells. " just stop!"

He's going to die from a stab in the back. I remember the curving slice of the blade, as it cut the air like satin, as it buried itself into his spine. Any second now, he'll be gone.

Harder. Eugene's face swims into view.

HARDER.

The man coughs again. Blood erupts out his mouth, a volcano of crimson and scarlet.

" End it." He groans. " End it please."

The dagger. The same dagger. I unsheathe it, see his face contort between elation and terror.

" You want it?" I hiss, pressing the tip of the knife into his forehead.

He can barely nod.

" Then tell me," I say, " What do you know about The Stabbington brothers?"

"The who?" He splutters, "I-"

"I wouldn't have accepted this job if a little bird hasn't told me that YOU KNOW SOMETHING. So tell me. Else-" I release the pressure on his head and slit a small cut on his belly. Red instantly oozes through his gold patterned shirt, and he bites his lip, screwing his eyes up in pain. " Fine," he whispers. " They're in Arendalle."

"Arendalle? I've never heard of it. Are you LYING TO M-"

" No! No, I swear!"

It's not the tone of his voice, but the honest look in his eyes that makes me believe him.

" Let me go," he croaks.

He wants the knife. A drip of sweat rolls down the bridge of his nose.

" One last thing." I say, " where are your jewels?"

"Second cupboard in third bedroom. Please,"

God. Those eyes. They almost remind me of Eugen-

_Stop._

I don't look away as I kill the man. I didn't look away when Eugene died.

It's been more than a year. More than a year since I left him in that tower. I haven't been back since.

After I'd gone, I found Irry within a month. Corona loves to gossip, and Irry was hot gossip. A beautiful girl with murderous teqnique- the assassin of the land. She found me more than I found her, really. Wanted to see what I was about.

Once I'd talked to her, she agreed to help. Help me become an assassin, I mean. I haven't told anyone about my personal mission- to kill everyone who made Eugene's life hell. So far, only the orphanages master has been tracked down. He lies at the bottom of the sea.

It's been a couple of weeks since any real new information about the stabington brothers has emerged. The notion that they are in Arrandale is a fresh trail.

Arrandale. Have I heard of it before?

Suddenly, there's a clash from downstairs. A cry of-"father?" And I'm sprinting down the corridor, desperately looking for the room that he said the jewels were in. Once I find them, I'm out the door in a flash. Irry gets a small fraction of the money- I owe her for my training. But the rest is for me. The jewels I've gathered, the gems I've found-I'm probably richer than the king and queen.

That's all they are now. The king and the queen.

**Whoppie- way to be boring. Sorry bout that. Basically, Rapunzel has changed her name to just 'Tower' she only gives her real name got people that are about to die by her hand. The man she kills isn't important, but she heard he knew something about the stabington brothers, so she killed two birds with one stone by accepting a job to Hurt him. She aims to kill all those that hurt Eugene- she is also trying to stop herself from thinking about him. **

**Why they are in Arrendale will soon become clear!**

**Also, I know this will be VERY OOC, but that's the whole point. How WOULD she cope if she lost Eugene? This is my answer to that question :-)**

**Please PM me with any question and I'd love it if you left a review-good or bad I adore them! Do you like it or do you hate it? Spill ze beans! **

**(also, TO ANYONE waiting for the Frozen Heart update, I am SOOO sorry! It's nearly nearly done!) **

**Dinorhino x**


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